How to and how not to approach God (2 Sam 6:1-11)

A church I know through a friend decided on an extensive building project as they were running out of space for Sunday services and other group activities. Out of several proposals, the preferred option of the leadership was the most ambitious, but it was felt that to tinker at the edges with the current building expressed a lack of faith. When the elders’ choice was put before the congregation for approval, it was emphasised that their decision was unanimous, but my friend felt a twinge of unease because she happened to know that one person in the leadership preferred a different building option. True, the dissenter acquiesced in the majority’s choice, but that could hardly be called an undisputed decision. It seemed that the church leadership tried to create the impression that this was indeed the right choice, sanctioned by God, since they all agreed on it. As churches, as well as individuals, we have subtle ways to co-opt God to support our causes.

Mixed motives?

The re-appearance of the ark in our reading, after twenty years of neglect (1 Sam 7:2; 1 Chron 13:3) looks like a positive move. Since the Lord was symbolically enthroned above the cherubim (2 Sam 6:2; the angel figures covering the lid of the ark), bringing the ark to Jerusalem would express that the Lord was Israel’s ultimate king. Nevertheless, there is a niggling sense that moving the ark may not entirely be a worshipful act but also a way of demonstrating God’s support and legitimation of David. Our passage reminds us of the last time we read about the ark when Israel dragged it into battle in the hope that the Lord would turn their defeat into victory (1 Sam 4:3). God refused to be manipulated, however, and the ark was lost to the Philistines (1 Sam 4:17). Eventually, the latter returned the ark to Israel for fear of being destroyed by it and by Israel’s God (1 Sam 5:2-4, 11).

Tragedy and its cause

Ominously, the ark is brought from Baale-judah (an alternative name for Kiriath-jearim; 1 Chron 13:6) on a new cart,[1] the method used by the Philistines earlier (2 Sam 6:3; 1 Sam 6:7). This was acceptable from pagans who knew no better, but Israel had strict rules including the use of poles (Exod 25:14; Num 4:5, 15), which avoided the need to touch the ark altogether. It ensured that God and the symbol of His holy presence was treated with true reverence. That the Lord’s requirements here are neglected is indicative of an attitude that is not wholly committed to God’s ways and treats God as it seems best to human eyes. The result is the tragedy that follows when Uzzah touches the ark to steady it (2 Sam 6:6). He may have become too familiar with this object as it rested peacefully in his father’s house (2 Sam 6:4) for twenty years, but the ultimate blame falls on David whose neglectful arrangements created the opportunity for such disaster.

How to approach God

David’s initial anger at the Lord for killing Uzzah (2 Sam 6:8) may reflect something of our feelings. How could God treat the poor man so severely when he only tried to avert worse disaster? Like David’s outrage, however, ours needs to turn into fear and proper awe. In His grace, the Lord so often refrains to give us what we truly deserve that we become overfamiliar with Him and think we can get away with it. As Hebrews puts it, ‘It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God’ (Heb 10:31). Like Ananias and Zapphira, who lied to God and fell down dead in the NT (Acts 5:1-11), David’s botched attempt at bringing the ark to himself is a harsh reminder that our sins are flammable and God’s holiness is like fire… Leaders also need to take extra care with their actions because their mistakes rebound on their flock. Uzzah’s tragedy brings us up short to recognise how far we may have moved from knowing our true position in relation to God and from treating Him as holy. He is not our equal, neither is He at our beck-and-call. We cannot use Him for our ends to sanction what we think is right. Yet, when we submit to Him humbly, He shows Himself more than gracious to us.

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[1] In the ancient world, the sacred and the profane or common were not to be mixed, so that the significance of the new cart is that it has not been used for common purposes before and is thus an appropriate vehicle for transporting a holy object.

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